Play@YSDC

Henry Glynn

"Pardon me Mr Rooger but have you noticed anything strange round here lately, other than the fires? Any strangers in these parts?"

"Well, there's you!" He hoots with laughter. He's obviously on his way to inebriation now.

"No, not many strangers around here. Not since my friends showed up."

Henry Glynn

"Friends?" probes Henry with interest, offering more bread and cheese.

“Yup” says Rooger. “Say, this is real tasty cheese. Sure good of you folks to share it with me. Used to have a goat a long time ago, but never got any milk from it. ‘Twas a he-goat! Ha ha ha!”

Henry Glynn

"Vermont cheese is the best kind isn't it? Tell us more about your friends?"

Rooger's voice drops low, as if he is imparting a great secret.

"My new friends know more th'n them perfessers from the U" he confides.

He stands up a little shakily. "Come see muh gardin!" he hollers, and heads for the door.

He heads for his vegetable patch. "Lookee here! See these cucumbers! Ain't they the greenest cucumbers you ever saw?"

The garden is certainly in fine condition; the soil looks rich and the plants strong and healthy.

Balzac happily enough wanders out with Rooger and casts an analytical eye over the garden, ever the botanist.

"Monsieur, there is no doubt you have the green thumb," he compliments Rooger. "Are your new friends good gardeners?"

“Why, sure Frenchie!” he sips again from his flask.

“M’ crops hev’n’t failed oncst since m’new friends come along.”

He stops to point out a watermelon. “See this melon! Ain’t it fine?”

"Oh indeed!" says Alice. "It could probably win a prize at the county fair. Your garden is lovely. Your friends certainly are talented. What are their names?"

Rooger looks taken aback a moment.

“Why, come to think of it, they never tole me! And I never asked” he adds, sadly. He takes another drink.

“They have a friend though, they bin callin’ him. Iffa.. I think his name be. Or maybe Iffka? Ifkwa?” He is beginning to slur his words.

Careful not to tread on any plants, Balzac squats down to admire the melon and its companions.

OOC,Is there anything actually abnormal about the results of Rooger's veggie patch or is it just at the well done end of the normal spectrum?

Henry Glynn

"It would be good to meet your gardener friends - maybe they can help us find Mr Hodges."

OOC,There is nothing strange about the plants, they are just in excellent condition and the soil is obviously very healthy. Perhaps that in itself is a little unusual.

"Oh no" says Rooger to Henry. "My friends don't like to meet anyone. They only let me work with 'dem."

He drinks some more. He is obviously quite drunk now.

Henry Glynn

"Sure Mr Rooger, I understand. Say, are you expecting them any time soon?"

Rooger suddenly seems serious for once. “They come 'afore dusk. You folks need to be gone ‘afore then”.

Abruptly, he sits down. But he doesn’t spill a drop from his jar, which soon finds his lips.

"Where are your friends from?" asks Alice. "Are they local, or just visiting? Maybe you could ask them if they've seen Mr. Hodges when they come."

“Oh, visiting, I should think” slurs Rooger. His eyes are glassy. He mumbles some more words, which the heroes must strain to listen to.

Everybody,Roll Listen.